Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Graduate Spotlight: Aaliyah Derry ’21, M’25
Less than a year after Aaliyah Derry ’21, M’25 graduated from NDMU with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, she began thinking about returning to school to become a nurse practitioner. Derry would ultimately become a member of the inaugural nurse practitioner cohort at NDMU, which launched new Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (A-GNP) and Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) offerings in fall 2022.
Derry, an A-GNP graduate, and her fellow classmates will be celebrated in Marikle Chapel on Friday afternoon after completing their coursework this December. Learn more below about what led to Derry’s initial interest in nursing, her experiences in NDMU’s BSN and A-GNP programs, and how her classmates and professors helped support her both academically and personally.
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Family Nurse Practitioner Graduate Spotlight: Tiana Byrd ’22, M’25
When Tiana Byrd ’22, M’25 decided to join the nursing profession after a three-year stint as a school teacher, she knew early on that wanted to ultimately become a nurse practitioner. Byrd wanted to not only see her own patients, but also develop a lasting connection with them in a way that is not typically possible in a hospital setting.
Byrd, who completed NDMU's Family Nurse Practitioner program while navigating through a pregnancy and maintaining two part-time nursing jobs, previously earned her Accelerated 2nd Degree Bachelor of Science (ABSN) degree as a member of the School of Nursing's August 2021 cohort.
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NDMU Alumna Named Athletic Organization’s Soccer Coach of the Year
Congratulations to Alla Stepanov ’18, who was recently selected as the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland’s Soccer Coach of the Year after guiding Catholic High School's varsity team to an undefeated season and a division championship!
Stepanov and assistant coach Lauren Santi ’16, teammates for two years on NDMU's women's soccer team, led Catholic to a perfect 17-0 record this fall.
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New Classes and Instructors Debut at Renaissance Institute in Spring 2025
The Renaissance Institute has launched its catalog for the spring semester, with classes available on Tuesdays and Thursdays on Zoom or in person at Notre Dame. In addition to established favorites such as Ballet, History, Shakespeare, Spanish, Ukulele, and Watercolors, RI introduces new classes every semester for learners over 50 years of age, including such topics as Aquarella Graphite Drawing, Female Blues Belters of the 1920s, If Women Wrote the Bible, Introduction to Islamic Art, Japanese Incarceration in WWII, Making Sense of the World of Investments, Stained Glass of Baltimore, and more.
Renaissance Institute partially relies on members, NDMU staff, and professionals in the local community to teach classes in their areas of expertise. New members Ruth Mascari and Trish Bentz will be team teaching History of Charles Street: Its People, Places, and Things. Ruth is a former Chair of the Baltimore County Landmarks Commission and Baltimore County Historic Trust. Trish worked in historic preservation for 17 years in Baltimore County.
Mashall Highet, an author, educator, and academic records assistant in the Registrar’s Office at NDMU, will be teaching Noir vs. Noir, an exploration of classic noir novels and their film counterparts. Robert Weisser, a musician, educator, and computer programmer, will be leading For Your Listening Pleasure – Form and Structure in Music, a class which encourages learners to listen for things in compositions that they may not have heard before.
Morrissy Honors Program Hosts Reception for Sister Therese Marie Dougherty
NDMU's Elizabeth Morrissy Honors Program recently held a reception in UAB to honor Sr. Therese Marie Dougherty, SSND ’60, for her countless contributions to both the honors program and Notre Dame as a whole.
A recent substantial anonymous donation, made in honor of Sr. Therese, will provide funding to support international travel and a variety of co-curricular programing within the honors program. Thanks to all students, faculty, alums, and friends of Notre Dame who attended the reception in recognition of the positive impact that Sr. Therese has made on their lives!
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School of Education Continues Partnership with American Chinese Educational Exchange
The School of Education and the American Chinese Educational Exchange (ACCE) began a new partnership last summer. The first cohort of nine Chinese students arrived in July, and the second cohort of five students followed shortly after in late August. These students are earning their Master of Arts in Teaching and teaching certification in both teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) and special education while completing the Graduate Education Internship (GEI) program.
Recently, the ACCE/Gogolearning founders, Shawn Shen and Lily Zhao traveled from China to visit NDMU. During their week-long visit, they had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with NDMU faculty and staff. The School of Education looks forward to welcoming a third cohort of students in January for the spring 2025 semester.
While visiting, Shen and Zhao also had the opportunity to visit one of the GEI interns in the field (picture below). They conducted a field interview and observation with the intern and her mentor teacher. The students are all completing their Internships in local public schools surrounding NDMU. Here, they have the opportunity to turn theory into practice while under the guidance of highly effective mentor teachers. GEI students engage in coursework both asynchronously in the evenings and on campus on Fridays.
To conclude their visit, the School of Education and ACCE hosted a luncheon to celebrate the success of the GEI students and the partnership thus far. The SOE looks forward to welcoming the ACCE team again in May 2025, when the first cohort of students will graduate from NDMU with a Master of Arts in Teaching degree!
Library Updates
The Loyola Notre Dame Library has two events this week to conclude the fall semester. Additional Information is available below!
Pop-Up Class - Reading is Transformative: Sublimation Notebooks
Wednesday, December 11, 4 - 5 pm, Loyola Notre Dame Library IDEA Space
Learn about sublimation with a dry-ice demo, then customize your own bookmark and/or notebook with a photo or artwork! This class is capped at 12 participants.
Register Here
Pop-Up Class - Reading is Sustainable: Decoupage Planters
Thursday, December 12, 3:30 - 5 pm, Loyola Notre Dame Library IDEA Space
Create your own decoupage planter using book pages, then pot a plant!
Register Here
Conference and Auxiliary Services
